Happy Hour
by AznAnimeGrl2649
Summary: [AU] .:SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, InoShika:. What do you get when you mix four undercover cops with four bartenders, who are suspects of a murder case? [DISCONTINUED]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Here's what you need to know before reading:

1) This is just revamp of this story.

2) Currently, I have no plans to continue it.

3) Enjoy!

* * *

**Happy Hour**

_Chapter One_

* * *

_"Good morning Konoha! It is now 6:15 A.M. The weather outside is in the high 70's-" _

A hand reached over to press the snooze button, turning off the radio. Without reading the digital clock, he got up from under his navy sheets and headed straight the bathroom like a zombie. The lights in bathroom flickered on as he went over to the sink. He turned on the facuet and splashed some cold water to wake himself up. Looking in the mirror, his onyx eyes stared back at him. He looked like shit. After long hours at the office, he didn't know why he went home in the first place. Maybe it was to get away from the paperwork, or to get away from the people who were beginning to get on his nerves, namely a blond someone.

At age twenty-four, he was single. Single and not looking. His job prevented him from enjoying any socialable aspect of life and he was fine with that. Wherever he went, whispers of how gorgeous he looked were never-ending. Women would give him seductive looks, but he would always ignore them. Girls, especially in their teens would give him coy smiles which made him scowl more every day.

Turning off the running water, Sasuke returned his toothbrush and his cup near the sink and walked into his room. Opening his closet, he donned on a navy buttoned-up shirt, black slacks and a belt. After securing his a tie around his neck, Sasuke grabbed his silver watch, car keys, badge, and wallet. He locked the doors of his apartment before getting into his car to drive to work. The drive was short and he pulled into the parking lot of the Konoha Police Station.

* * *

Every phone at the station rang endlessly. As soon as Sasuke reached the doors, the women who worked there greeted a 'Good morning, Sasuke-kun' and walked off blushing like high school girls. Deepening his scowl, he proceeded through the room and walked into his office.

"Hey, Sasuke. Why the long face?" Naruto had a stupid grin on his face and a bowl of ramen in his hands, along with a pair of chopsticks. The only thing he would eat was ramen. There was no time to cook when you're a cop, so your only choices are "instant" or "takeout". The badge on his orange collared shirt is pinned on his left pocket, and as always he wore a blue necktie.

Sasuke ignored him and sat down at his desk. Numerous volumes of books and encyclopedias lined the selves of the bookcase near the windows. Not a beam of sunlight is shown through anything that is transparent of the Uchiha's room. The blinds on the windows were always down. Set on his on desk was the usual: a computer, a cup filled with pencils and a lamp.

"We have a meeting in like five minutes," Naruto said in-between slurps.

"Aa."

"You know what, Sasuke?"

"No, what?"

"I heard that this case is going to be an undercover thing."

"Hn."

"Oh, come on. I know you like a challenge. This is exactly up your alley."

"What is it this time?"

"I don't know, but the lazy ass is going to the meeting and mentioned something about women," smiled Naruto.

"Hn."

"Who knows, maybe we can get promoted after this case."

"In your dreams."

"Hey, I want to make Captain one day, and if I have to do more undercover work to get there, I'll do it."

"Uchiha, Uzumaki." They both turned their direction to the doorway. "You're both needed at the conference room." It was Neji. Dressed in a silver shirt with his collar unbuttoned revealing a glimpse of his chest, he had his hands crossed. His clothes and sleeves were crumpled. No doubt he pulled an all-nighter. The pupil-less eyes of the Hyuuga stared straight at the Uchiha. Though their age difference was just a year apart, they had some similarities in personalities and lifestyles. Both of them are very attractive, yet they don't seem to be interested in women. It even occurred to Naruto one time that they were both gay, but he could tell they were just sad bastards with very big egos.

Caught in between the world-is-ending-and-you-two-are-just-staring-at-each-other contest, Naruto gave a sigh. This was ritual would happen every day of the week. The boss would call them to a meeting and for the fun of it, that lazy pervert would always order the Hyuuga to go fetch them. Eventually, they would snap out of the staring trance and go on about doing what they were suppose to in the first place. Yeah, like after a good ten minutes or so.

"Oh, get a room you two. Considering how you two love your privacy, I think you two should consider it." A pen landed Naruto's head with great accuracy, throwing him off his balance. His chopsticks went flying to the floor as he clutched his bowl of ramen closely to his chest, being careful to not spill the broth. The blond grumbled something along the lines of 'Stubborn lovers who are just hiding their _true_ affections for another' and stalked off to his desk to get another pair of wooden chopsticks. Their 'undying love' was something he often tease them about. He was just trying to lighten up the mood since the prodigies seem to have the 'I'm going to murder you in your sleep' atmosphere about them.

* * *

"Nice of you to join us, Naruto." Present in the room was Neji, Sasuke, and Shikamaru. Without taking his eye off his orange book, Kakashi motioned them to take a seat on the cushion chairs of the long maple wood table. The rays of the sun danced in every corner of the room between the gaps of the blinds from the wide glass windows that had the view of the streets below them. The wall adjacent to the windows had a white overhead screen rolled down several feet. Placed on the center of the long table was a projector, signifying that they were going to have a briefing.

Sasuke took his seat near the middle of the room and sat there with his arms crossed. Shikamaru didn't waste time and just took a seat next to Neji. They all had that bored look in their eyes, wanting to get the meeting over with. An irritated scowl was on everyone's face, except for Naruto. Holding a fresh pair of chopsticks, the blond didn't get the chance to touch his breakfast when Kakashi ordered him to shut the blinds. Frowning, Naruto did what was told of him and pulled the strings to deflect the sunlight aimed in the room. Getting back to his seat next to Sasuke, he hungrily stuffed his face with ramen, keeping his eyes in front for the room. After a good minute, Kakashi finally closed his book and took a remote out from his pocket. Pressing the red button, the overhead projector sprang to life, emitting a light on the screen in front.

"Last night, the forty-eight year old head mobster Gatoh was founded dead." A picture of a white-haired man wearing a pair of sunglasses in a black suit appeared on the screen. His wide forehead accented the sinister look he was giving to the people around him.

"The location of his death was in a bar called 'Red Love' owned by a guy name Gaara. He is a twenty-one year-old male, height: 5' 9'', weighs 140 lbs, DOB: January 14th, and blood type is: AB." The eyes in room gazed at the picture of the bar owner. The mop of red hair on him made him look years older. Dark circles under his eyes showed that he was suffering from insomnia. On the right side of his head was a red tattoo displaying the kanji for love. The deep scowl on his face showed that he was not just some ordinary bar owner. He wore a black fishnet shirt with a red vest that cut off a few inches from his arm length finished off by a pair of long dark tan pants that gave him an urban look. Though he appeared to be from a city, his characteristics proved otherwise.

"We have limited information on him including where he originated from. Though his record is clean, the bar he owned has numerous ties with the gang members in town. Many secret meetings are held in there with discussions of war for the claims over the city. We have concluded that the death was not accidental. Gatoh had a lot of enemies who would give anything for his head." Kakashi continued as he pressed the next button.

"Investigators found Gatoh in a chair without any cuts, bruises, or bullet wounds. His blood had no signs of poison and he didn't seem to have any heart problems. There were no marks on his neck, so we know that he wasn't strangled to death. His death is a mystery, but I can tell there is more to the story. The death of was reported by four young girls who worked there for a few months. Half a year tops." A picture of four girls were shown on the screen. Zooming in, Kakashi focused on the girl with pink hair.

"This is Haruno Sakura, known as Blossom at 'Red Love'. Age: 22, DOB: March 28th. Height: 5' 3'', weight: 115. Blood type: O."

"Hey, she's kind of cute!" Glares were shot at him for his unnecessary comment. Sheepishly, the blond rubbed the back of his head and went back to eating his ramen. Turning back their direction, the three waited for Kakashi to proceed.

"The next one is Yamanaka Ino, known as Lavender. Age: 21, DOB: September 23rd. Height: 5' 3'', weight: 110. Blood type: B."

"The girl next to her is Tenten, known as Amber. Age: 23, DOB: March 9th. Height: 5' 4'', weight: 120. Blood type: B."

"The last one is Hyuuga Hinata." At the mere mention of that name all eyes of the room darted at Neji, who just continued to look fiercely at the person in front of them. No one said a word but they kept their attention on the Hyuuga male. The last suspect was his cousin. Protol call dictates that family members were not allow to be involve in cases that would result in a conflict of interest. It seemed that Kakshi had made an exception to this rule. They have little knowledge about Neji's profile, but the feud between the Main and Branch families were infamous. Everyone in the city knew. Times past and the arguments between the houses died down ever since the heiress disappeared.

"Known as Pearl at 'Red Love.' Age: 21, DOB: December 27th. Height: 5' 4'', weight: 112. Blood type: A. These four girls are the main focus to the case. Although they are just the bartenders, we believe that they can be suspects of the case. They are the eyes and ears of the bar. Your first assignment will be tonight. The four of you will have to go undercover and see what kind of information you can gather from them. I've assigned each of you to a person." Pulling out four manilla envelops from the desk behind him, Kakashi gave each of them one.

"Report back to me when you have something that might help with the case. You all are in luck," said the silver haired pervert. "The girls are going to put on a show tonight. I heard they were very talented, so keep a close eye on them. Any questions?"

Shikamaru raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Why do we need to gather information when all we need to do is study the scene of the death?" Kakashi didn't miss a beat.

"We need to determine the ties Gatoh has around the bar, and the information would not come easy. There are still unsolved gang cases and this is one of them. The information founded can help the department figure out when and where the 'Triad War' is going to happen. Now if everyone doesn't have any farther questions to ask, meeting adjured," finished their boss. Pressing the button to turn off the machine, he went over to the windows and pulled the blinds up. The sunlight brighten up the room as they left the room.

Sasuke walked out the door with the folder in his hand. He went to the lounge and poured himself a cup of coffee. The bitter liquid reached his lips as he took a sip. There was no one in the room, so he enjoyed the peace of the morning. Living in the city was not all fun and games. There were robbers and the nights were always filled with endless sirens of police vehicles. Many crooks live in the city of Konoha. They would try anything to get a couple of bucks by either conning, or robbing some bank. But in the end, they would all get caught. They always do.

"Let's see who I got," Naruto said in excitement, waving his papers around. He opened his folder and read the profile. "Shit, I have Neji's cousin." He placed the folder with the close up photo of Hyuuga Hinata on the table, and went to the fridge to get a can of soda.

"So Sasuke, who's the lucky lady?" Flipping open the file, the Uchiha took a glance and turned it toward Naruto. Her emerald green eyes had a look of innocence that complimented her kind smile.

"Lucky bastard," Naruto grumbled as he popped open his can of soda.

* * *

His head banged on the surface of a desk. His arms were at his side, dangling a few inches from the floor. Loosening the red tie around his neck, Shikamaru looked at the clock on his desk. It was 9:00 a.m. The lazy cop continued to stay in that position, not caring if his light green shirt was getting wrinkled. It wasn't his style to be in a shirt with a collar and a tie that would choke you to death. Heck, it was currently seventy-three degrees outside and he was stuck inside, slumped on his desk and wearing annoying clothes that businessmen would live to wear. At least there was air conditioning at the station.

The sound of phones ringing echoed from the outside of his office. With the door closed and the windows revealed, Shikamaru went over to lay on the couch that was in the room. Yes, a couch. It was _his_ couch. It served as a stress relief for the young detective. Though he's known for his smart tactics, he was lazy. _**Very **_lazy. Plopping down his head on the hand rest on the deep forest couch, he brought his hands on top and gazed out the window. He was cloud watching, a childhood hobby he would do often instead of doing the paperwork on his desk. Who could concentrate when there are other things happening outside the window? Sure, this is a city, but the thing is about the people of this city is that they don't pay very much attention to the world around them.

Being a cop was not his childhood dream, but Shikamaru wanted his parents to be proud of their only child. Impressing them was hard despite his high I.Q. So, he decided to follow in his father's footsteps. The many generations of the Nara clan were promising doctors and investigators in the criminals division. Now, it was his turn. He doesn't ask for much. All he wanted was to watch the clouds and live his lazy lifestyle. Too bad his job prevented him from living his own life.

Aside for that, he now had a case. To him, it was just more paperwork he had to do. Reports, information, and documents. To hell with documents. Like anyone in the damn station would read them anyways. If cases were solved the recorders would just slap a big ass red 'Solved' stamp on it and file it with the other thousand folders sitting in the metal cabinets collecting dust. There was just no point, except for a keep of reference. That was important in a way. The thought of paperwork didn't come to his mind until he had to take the tests set up for him. Hell, he didn't know how he passed training, but the academy he went to gave a good word about him.

Not the whole academy agreed, but his mentor was determined. Sarutobi Asuma had fate in the lazy smart ass. Now a days, he and his mentor would meet together and play a friendly game of chess. A smile appeared on his face when the memory of his mentor's shocked expression came to his mind. It was the first time he played the statistic game with another person other than his father. The days of the academy were easy for the Nara, but no one said that being a cop was going to be easy. What the hell was he thinking when he took the damn entrance exam? Oh well, it was too late now.

A knock at the door interrupted his moment of tranquility. Ignoring it, Shikamaru proceeded to watch the white fluffy clouds in the blue sky. The knocking of the door stopped but the hinges squeak opened and the person walked into his room. It was Neji, a person Shikamaru had worked with before. They worked on many cases together and have great experience when it came to undercover cases. No one seemed to care what they thought of each other as long as they captured the criminals. But between the two, they knew things about each other. Their relationship was not just working as partners on cases, but friendship as well. They both knew their places and don't care what other people think. It is their life, let them live how they want it.

"You seem to be doing that lately," said the prodigy. He closed the door and took a seat in a chair. In his hands was the manilla Kakashi had given to each of them. The idea of investigating the female suspects was totally barbaric in their minds. Throughout the years of working together, their perspective on things weren't that much different from one another. Without taking a glance at the uninvited guest, Shikamaru laid there in silence. The start of the case was tonight and they need to prepare for it. Information has to be memorized and plans for the course of action are to be rendered through the group before the time comes. Forms of communication was an important factor in this case.

Even though they were assign on the same case, their work had to be separate from the rest of the group. Being undercover was a big issue. One false move and your cover can be blown by some idiot who thinks he have solved it. Right now, they only have a good fifteen hours before they start the investigation. Preparation would take weeks to concoct, but they were the best in the business. This was not something they haven't done before. They always pulled through, at the very last minute that is.

Sharp turns of paper could be heard in the quiet room. The Hyuuga was studying the file of his suspect. In it contained a picture of the girl with two buns on her head. She had on a Chinese style tank and a pair of black cargo pants. From the looks of it, Neji concluded that she was a tomboy. Her figure gave the impression that she was a physical one. Looking at the photo, he could see the outlines of her muscles on her arms and legs. With the small smirk on her face, she seemed to be one of those girls who doesn't take crap from anyone. Maybe this case might not be boring after all.

"This case is going to be troublesome," Shikamaru said at last. His eyes were still glued out the window and his face had that look of irritation. He already took a peak at his suspect. It was the blonde. When it came to females, he didn't want to have anything to do with them. On his last case, he had to deal with a girl by the name of Kin. She was one of those woman with a bitchy attitude. Kin was apart of a gang that was harassing a citizen and he happened to be the one strolling in the park to get away from the noises at the station. He would usually go on rounds (his favorite place to watch clouds to think quietly), but not that time.

When he passed by them, the citizen was crying for help and he couldn't just ignore her. So, he did his duty and told the woman to back off. The next thing he knew, the bitch pulled out a knife and like the crazy bitch she was, Kin went up to his face and attacked him. After dodging some close calls, Shikamaru finally tripped her and had her pinned on the grass. As if getting attacked wasn't bad enough, she just had to cuss him out from under his weight. He did the logic thing anyone in his position would do and pressed her face farther into the dirt. That didn't keep her quiet much because of violent temper she had. Cuffing her to the bench, Shikamaru said a few words of her rights and waited for some other damn cop to bring her in. Women were troublesome in his opinion. It was just another reason to stay away from them.

"The meeting with Uchiha and Uzumaki is in a few minutes. We need to go through the procedure and make sure we don't make any mistakes this time," stated Neji. He remember the last time they were on a case together. It was another undercover situation where they had to be drug dealers. At first, it went good until that ramen eating idiot was cornered to take the drugs to prove them they were real. The customers assumed that they were fake because of the stupid grin he has on his face. Seriously, a grin. What kind of drug dealer would have a wide grin on his face when he's selling illegal substances? You might as well wear a sign that says 'I'm not a real drug dealer, I'm cop going undercover. Don't trust me because of my goofy smile.' Hellbent on keeping his cover, Naruto didn't think twice before he swallowed the pill. Though they caught the buyers of the drug, the side affects of the drug was what gave them a hard time.

When they returned to the station, Naruto went to his office all fine and dandy. A couple of minutes later, a loud crash came from his room. Rushing to see what the commotion was about, they can never forget what they saw next. In his office, Naruto was stripped from head to toe. They would still have nightmares if he was not drugged up enough to take off his boxers. The blond complained about being hot and was then dragged to the bathroom to cool off. Drenched in water, Naruto started to talk nonsense about being in love with a bowl of ramen.

By the time he woke up, Naruto couldn't remember what he did under the affects of the drugs. Now, they have to work together again. Making the best of the situtation was definitely Shikamaru's main motivation. He could care less about Naruto's inconsistancies and ridiculous attitude. At the end of the day, Naruto was one of them.

Finally getting up, Shikamaru slowly walked out of his office with Neji following behind him. There was no point in delaying the case. The sooner they all commit, the faster they could get it solved.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Here's what you need to know before reading:

1) This is just revamp of this story.

2) Currently, I have no plans to continue it.

3) Enjoy!

* * *

**Happy Hour**

_Chapter Two_

* * *

**Two Years Earlier**

"This is driving me crazy!" The twenty-one year old exclaimed. Heaps of newspapers and boxes were currently piled up in the room. The white walls were stained with yellow, which was very unbecoming to the eye and the windows in the room were small, but large enough let in some light. Though she was not comfortable with the idea of living in a place such as this, their options were limited.

Twirling the highlighter pen between her index and middle finger, the brunette skimmed her amber eyes down the page. Listings of advertisements and offers bordered the edges of black and white parchment.

Living with roommates was not easy, especially since Sakura and Ino often like to argue a lot. Feelings were usually hurt and there was always a lot of yelling involved. She was glad Hinata didn't have that kind of a relationship.

"Are you okay, Tenten?" A small voice echoed into the room. The mirrors on the wall reflected the gloomy weather that was brewing outside. Raindrops hit the windows in a nonstop beat as the gray clouds overlook the whole city of Konoha. Today was a dark day indeed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tenten sighed, circling a section with her highlighter. Laying on her other side was a crossword puzzle, partly finished. "No," she breathed out. "We are not. We are not fine. We are living here in this apartment and we're jobless! How are we gonna live through this if -" She fumed and got up from her position. "I don't know if we can even afford to live here! We barely have money to buy groceries and pay the bills. How _**are**_ we going to pay for our bill? I just think this is a big mistake, Hinata. I don't think we can do this," she finished.

"Tenten, it's okay," said Hinata. "You don't need to stress yourself out over this. We will find a way," she placed a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I know, but I really want to-"

"We shouldn't rush things," Hinata looked onto the floor. "If this was a mistake then I am-"

"You don't have to be sorry, Hinata."

"Then, you shouldn't have to worry. We have friends here to help us and we'll make through this. We just need to focus on what we need right now."

"What we _need_ now is a job." Her eyes knitted together. "I'm starting to think that we will never find one."

"Where is your optimism?" Hinata looked up from the floor and Tenten turned her head to the door. It was Ino. "I know the odds are against us," Ino whispered. "But it doesn't mean we should give up! Don't forget: we are in this together." She paused to see if they had anything to say.

"You're right." Tenten looked down at the newspapers.

"That's the spirit! Well, I'm going to help Sakura unpack." Without another word, Ino went down the hall.

* * *

Like the other rooms in the apartment, the living room was filled with boxes and things lay scattered in every corner. Pieces of clothes are placed here and there on windowsills and some were on the mantle. The pink headed girl panted as she rested her hands on her knees. Loose strands from her messy ponytail of her unusual shade of locks swayed back and forth as she tried to catch her breath.

"Here," her friend offered. Ino managed squeezed through the boxes and went out into the hall. Her nose wrinkled from the smell of the building. It smelled like cat litter. The building they were moving into wasn't the best in the city, but it was the only thing they could afford until they can find something better.

Sakura finally regained her breath and the two of them pushed and pulled the box of clothes into their apartment. A few grunts and straining of muscles later, the two girls were panting in the middle of the living room like they had run a marathon. Sakura brushed a loose strand of hair from her face and sighed in relief. That was the last of the boxes they would have to move. It was a little after six and the apartment was mostly the same since that morning. The sky had begun to darken and the temperature descended slightly as the day drew nearer and nearer to the evening. Everything was in order, except the kitchen. There were quite a few boxes in there containing pots and pans, plus some cooking and eating utensils that needed to be put away.

"Would you like something to drink?" they heard Hinata ask. In her hands, she held bottles of water that had a slight bit of frost on them. Immediately, they graciously accepted and quickly gulped down the water. After a few minutes of rest, they resumed their cleaning.

With a broom in hand, Hinata swept the dust and crumbs on the wooden floor into a pile while Sakura wiped down every space in the living room. Ino was in her room, unpacking her things and putting them away. She had been in there since lunch and she still wasn't done. Hinata was busy cleaning and taking care of things since the morning. With her expertise of organization and neatness, the whole apartment was easy to maneuver through without having to bump into anything. The only one who hasn't been out of the room all day was Tenten. Wanting to see how she was doing, Sakura knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," came the answer from inside. She pushed the door gently, taking a peek in the room to find Tenten sitting down on the floor with a pen in hand.

"Still haven't found a job yet?" Sakura inquired as her emerald eyes saw that there were still newspapers on the floor with yellow highlighter marks of x's and o's though she knew tic-tac-toe was far from what Tenten was busying herself with. Half of the boxes in the room were empty and the other half were still unopened. "Maybe we should head out and eat today," the pink headed girl suggested. The female on the floor rubbed her temples with her left hand and pinched the bridge of her nose between her eyes, and gave a little stiff yawn.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Great! Let's go for some Chinese!" Sakura chirped. A grumble echoed in the room and Tenten couldn't help but let out a chuckle. Sakura, on the other hand, grinned sheepishly and blushed with embarrassment. "Heh. I guess I've been craving for it all day."

"Sounds like it to me."

"Job hunting isn't really a fun sport, is it?"

"You can say that again," Tenten groaned. "These jobs are so out of the ordinary. Look at this! Who needs a dog whisperer for more than eight hours a day?"

"Someone who is very troubled?"

"Your guess is good as mine," she laughed. "I'm going to stop looking at newspapers."

"Why is that?"

"Because I think I've gone color-blind." This time, it was Sakura's turn to laugh.

"Don't you have a meeting tomorrow?"

"Yeah, something with the tenant. Policies and other crap." Tenten let out a sigh.

"You're not trying to get out of it are you?"

"Of course not," replied the brunette with mock astonishment, making them both giggle childishly.

"I can help on the job hunting if you like," offered Sakura. "I unpacked most of my things and I'm sure Ino and Hinata can handle the rest themselves. I want to help out any way I can." Tenten looked around the room, eyeing the many stacks of paper. It would be nice to take a break from the black and white prints and paper cuts.

"That would be great," she smiled.

"All right!" the cherry blossom cheered. "Now, let's go and eat!"

* * *

**The Next Morning**

"Sunset Street, Sunset Street. Where the heck is it?" the girl cried. In her hands were a bundle of papers with a map on top of it. Her index finger slid on the map as she looked for the street.

**"You should have slept earlier,"** a voice inside her head scolded. Sakura scowled and ignored her inner self. Spinning around in search of a sign, any sign, she darted her eyes back and forth from the lines with little numbers and names to the green rectangular signs with white markings. Cars honked and when she looked up, she found herself in the middle of the crosswalk. Angry drivers barked at her for blocking the road and streams of colorful words followed.

"A good day to you too!" she bit out sarcastically and stalked off to the other side of the street in a huff.

"Let's see," she skimmed down the map again for the millionth time. "If I go down this road, it'll lead me to Fifth Avenue and turn to the left and Sunset Street should be right in front of me." Trusting her map reading skills are precise, Sakura shoved her on pink gloves and pulled her coat closer to her body as she continued down her path. If the cold didn't get her, the people in the city will.

* * *

The sign on the door read 'Tsunami' in bold black letters. Tenten stood a good three feet from it, dressed in a ruby turtle neck sweater over her white long coat. Although the office in the building, it was still a bit chilly at ground level. Getting the idea that the wouldn't disappear if she stared at it any longer, she reached up and gave it a firm knock. A muffled answer of 'Come in' replied and she let out a breath and reluctantly reached for the brass doorknob, giving it a turn then a little push as the hinges creaked open.

It was so warm in the little room. Blue carpets lined the wallpapers touching the edge of the white borders as well as the floor. A desk set in the corner with a little open window making the place a little more like an office than a room in the building. Next to the desk was a large plant, its leaves draping on the lamp of the stand nearby. Like any other office in the world, there was a computer monitor and a cup of coffee on the desk. Behind the many photograph frames, a glass lamp, piles of files, and a pen and pencil holder was a young woman dressed in a loose white silky blouse and a black skirt. Her long ebony hair cascaded down her shoulders all the way down to her back, making her slim figure stand out.

"You must be Tenten, I presume?" The woman greeted. "Have a seat." Tenten nodded and sat on one of the white plush chairs across from the landlady, who seems quite comfortable in her own creme leather seat.

"Well, let's get down to business, shall we?" Again, she nodded. "You have signed the lease and read the rules applied to everyone in the building, is that correct?" Flipping a couple of files, she opened the one labeled 'Apartment 24'. "All of the documents are signed and you just moved in yesterday, but I still need the . . . " At this point, Tenten was barely listening. She knew what documents she still had to take care of. She just sat there nodding when Tsunami paused. "I will give you til the end of this week, so I stress to you that you must finish the agreement. You may go," she smiled warmly. Tenten thanked the woman and started to head out the door but stopped short when Tsunami said she had one more thing to discuss. Again, she went back and sat down in the seat she was in before.

'Oh when will the talking end?' Tenten thought.

* * *

After hours of bumping into hundreds of people, getting flicked off by several asses, hit on by deranged men and bums, growled at by man-hunting dogs, she arrived at a strange looking building. It was one of those secretive and eerie kind of place with tinted windows. There wasn't even a sign on the door. Standing on her tiptoes, Sakura tried to peer into the glass window on the door. All she could see was a long hallway connected by another that was definitely locked. Pounding her head repetitively on the window, she tried to figure out why this was happening to her. She had walked across town and back all morning and it was all for nothing.

"What are you doing here?" a cold voice said from behind. She turned her head to face the person, who was glaring at her.

"I-" The male looked at her with an intense stare, not taking his eyes off her. "You see," Sakura darted her eyes from him to the street below her feet. "I am here to answer to the ad." Pulling the newspaper out from her tuck arm, she pointed a gloved finger to the 'Employees Needed' box under the 'Classified' section. Bewilderment flashed across her face as the red haired man took the paper right from her hand in a swift move. Five seconds passed, then fifteen, and for a minute and fourteen seconds (Sakura counted) they were silent. After waiting patiently in the freezing cold, she cleared her throat to get his attention. That didn't work.

"Am I at the right place?" she gestured to the paper he was holding. Tired of the silent treatment, she decided that she was probably at the wrong place and held out her hand. "May I please have it back?" Sakura tried.

"Hey Gaara!" Someone shouted. The voice kept on yelling the same thing over and over again, getting louder by the second. Instead of returning her the black and white paper, the red haired man craned his neck to the side to answer the person heading toward them.

"Gaara," the young man said breathlessly, "We got a problem. The radiator in the back is steaming, one of the sinks in the Ladies room wouldn't stop turning on and off every ten minutes. I swear I'll bust that thing if it does that one more time! And the worst of them all is the oven!" His hands were flinging and flapping all over the place. "I think there is a gas line malfunction because it's spitting out fire!" Raking his hands through his dark brown hair that made him look more like a madman by the second, he tried to stabilize the amount of oxygen going in his lungs. The two talked, one shouting and the other whispering back, though Sakura couldn't really hear him clearly because of the howling wind.

Cold, tired, and above all, hungry, the pinked haired girl stood there in annoyance. "Excuse me," she yelled. There was no response. "Hello!" Sakura tried again. Irritated, she screamed from the top of her lungs, "The building's on fire!" In an instant, they turned to face her.

"The building's not on fire." The tall male pointed at her accusingly for lying.

"Of course not! I was here first buddy! I tried to ask nicely, but would you two listen? NO! Instead you keep on ignoring me while you screech like a baboon getting ready for a mating ritual!

"WHAT? BANBOON? MATING RITUAL? OH YOU ARE GOING TO-" She didn't let him finish.

"And YOU!" Sakura turned to the red head, jabbing a finger in his face. "Please give me back my paper!" She emphasized strongly, holding a gloved hand out like before. Expecting him to give it back because it was namely hers in the first place, Sakura closed her eyes and inhaled deeply from her big burst out of anger and neglect, but she felt nothing in the palm of her hand.

"Do you want a job?" she heard him asked. It was a simple question.

"What did you say?" Sakura asked disbelievingly.

"Job," was the his reply.

"Who's going to hire me?" Her feet were sore, her face numb and hard from the cold and after four 'you must fill out this sheet for an appointment' and five 'the position has been filled', her mind was telling her to go home to her warm cozy bed she had left that morning. It's funny how a lot can happen in just three hours.

"I am." Her green eyes widened, her heart pounded to her ears and her breath got caught at her throat.

"You?" she managed to choke out.

"Who else?" retorted the tall man, obviously still recovering from the insult. "He's the owner of the bar. At least, he still is anyway. I'm telling you Gaara," he frowned. "This place is cursed! Why else would all of this happen? And all in the same friggin' day too! If Temari was here . . . "

"Speaking of 'here', I am still present."

"It's rude to interrupt people when they are talking, little girl!"

"I"m not little you obnoxious-"

"Do you want a job?" the stoic male repeated.

"Yes," she answered his question.

"Be here tomorrow at noon to fill out the paperwork," he directed at the pink haired girl before turning to leave.

"No, wait," she cried out.

"The ad. The ad said you are looking for 'employees'."

"Yes," he answered.

"Well, I have-"

"Someone you want to bring?"

"Yes. So, may I?"

"Aa." Sakura raised a brow.

"You mean I can bring someone to apply for a job here?" He nodded. "Oh, thank you!" She bowed deeply, causing her long bangs to dip out from her scarf. Then she turned to leave. "You can keep the newspaper for now!" he heard her holler, waving her pink gloved hands side to side as her feet carried her farther away from their sight. From the corner of his eye, Gaara remained immobile, staring off to empty space in front of him. Kankurou stood beside his younger brother and gazed down the street and then back at the red haired man.

"Was that a smirk or am I still shock that you hired a girl to work at your bar?" his older sibling asked with an amused look on his face, forgetting why he was there in the fiirst place. Tiny snowflakes drifted overhead covering the streets in white crystalized aqua. Again, there was nothing but the sound of the cold harsh wind whistling nosily as the snowflakes danced around them.

"I think you've gone crazy, bro." There, he said it. As they stood there, the wind picked up and the snow fell harder. It was getting hard to see, but he did not miss the little smile that was on Gaara's lips.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Here's what you need to know before reading**:**

1) This is just revamp of this story.

2) Currently, I have no plans to continue it.

3) Enjoy!

* * *

**Happy Hour **

_Chapter Three_

* * *

Sakura sat there as her friends laughed at her, well, mostly Ino and Tenten. Hinata had a small smile on her apologetic face. Sighing, she thought they would never stop. After a good few minutes, the laughing ceased.

"Sakura, you have the best stalker stories," said Ino earnestly.

"Yeah, all the best stories always happen when I'm scheduled to work," she retorted dryly.

"So, what else happen last night?" Tenten asked. "Any bar fights?"

"As a matter of fact, there was a fight! Oh man, you should have seen it. There was blood everywhere. Guess what the subject of the fight was about? Shiny hair," Sakura said, trying to keep a straight face. She could see her friends laughing their heads off.

Wiping a tear from her eye, Ino tried to speak between the giggles. "Shiny hair?"

"Yes, the whole damn fights was about 'shiny hair'!"

"You've got to be kidding," Tenten stated. The petal head girl shook her head. "Okay, it's official, men are definitely the stupidest creatures on earth!"

"Calm down. If you thought that was stupid, you should have seen what they were doing to each other. One of them was holding a chair and the other was holding a candlestick, right."

"Whoa, hold on, where did they get the candlestick?" Inquired Ino.

"From the walls," Sakura answered simply. "Anyway, they were armed with a chair and a candlestick. Did you know what they did next? Oh my gosh, it was so hilarious! First, the man bash the other one to the wall and he lived! The was no blood at that point, but then the one on the ground got up and charged at his opponent, and they crashed into each other shouting about 'Youth' and stuff. After that, the tall one punched the other, that's when the blood began to fall, and knocked himself out! It was the most bizarre fight I've ever saw! And did you know what else?" Sakura shuddered. "One of them asked me for a date!"

"What did you say?" Ino asked eagerly. The cherry blossom gave her a 'where the hell have you been' look.

"Of course I declined." A stiff giggle escaped Hinata's lips. Men, they always do weird things. People have often say the most complex species on earth are humans; they couldn't be more right. Humans are hard to understand. Their emotions, the way they think, how they communicate, it's all bewildering. Although men and women are the same species, they would never understand each other. They are two different genders and have different ways of living.

Currently, they were at the mall. It was a Saturday and since they had nothing better to do, they decided to do some shopping. After hours of walking in and out of many stores, they decided to rest their feet at the food court. It was a typical girl's day until they heard someone interrupt them.

"Excuse me," they heard from behind. They all turned around and faced the speaker. Standing there was the 'stalker' Sakura was talking about. Up close, they could see a big bruise on his left cheek and white bandages wrapped around his fingers to his mid-arm. Both with her mouths hanging open to argue with each other, Sakura and Ino collected themselves and tried to be 'civil' in front of their 'stalker'.

"Um, hi," Sakura answered meekly. Her eyebrow twitched slightly as he came a bit closer, making her swarm. Tenten had her guard up, ready to pound the life out of him if he made any sudden move. Sitting next to Sakura, Ino slid her chair close to Hinata. It was worse enough to meet the 'stalker' face to face, now, he was 'talking' to them. Her sapphire orbs were glued on him. He better think twice before laying a hand on her best friend.

"My name is Rock Lee!" He said with a wide smile accompanied by a wink. The girls stared at him like he was a nut out of the asylum. First, he looks over at them and practically 'stalk' them, and now he's telling them his name. His cartoon eyes were on Sakura the whole time, but she didn't make a move. Sure, this guy was weird but she kind of felt sorry for him after the way he was treated yesterday. Giving him a nervous smile, Sakura managed to recover a little from shock.

"N-nice to meet you," said Sakura. The smile was still on her face, but she didn't know whether to scream or brush him off. Glancing other at Tenten, she could see that she was ready to strike. Stalker or no stalker, this guy was creeping them all out. They wondered how long it would take for him to run before Tenten's wrath gets unleshed. All they had to do was wait to see what he'll do next. Hopefully, it won't be anything stupid. Keyword: hope.

The four females stared at the figure in front of them, not daring to move. The look on Tenten's eyes would kill him in an instant if he stayed there any longer than he already has. Warily, Ino and Hinata watched him, making sure that their pink haired friend was safe. Sitting in their chairs, only one question came across their minds: What the hell did he want? The real question to ask is: Was he a stalker? From the looks of it, the guy, who introduced himself as Rock Lee, didn't seem to be dangerous. The looks were a dead give away, especially the goofy smile had and his lame pose.

Still standing there, Rock Lee held his breath as he looked at Sakura. Her body was tilting away from him slightly like he has some kind of a disease. The look of terror was on her tired face with a mix of shock and uneasiness. Right now, she wanted to be anywhere but here. She was in public and this guy over here is a bit weird. She had met him last night, but it was only because she was the bartender and had to get the ambulance for the stupid fight. She did it out of concern. Yeah, concern for her job and the safety of the people in the bar. It was some any person would do, if they had a heart that is.

"What is your name if I might ask," Lee exclaimed loud enough to catch the attention of the bystanders. Thinking, the words: 'Somebody, shoot me' came to mind. It's embarrassing enough to have someone like him walk up to her now, he was asking for her name. Sucking in a breath, she replied with her nickname.

"I'm Blossom," Sakura said with a smile.

"Yosh! Blossom, will you go out with me?" His white teeth made a 'pinging' noise as he gave her a wide grin. Eyes darted from one pair to another. Only the sounds of people munching on their food and children laughing and chatting can be audible from the awkward silence they all held. A second past, then another and another. Lee stood there with his smile still radiating, waiting for the girl's answer. The pink headed girl was the most beautiful person he had ever saw in his life.

"I'm sorry, but I-" Sakura managed out.

"She's already seeing someone," Ino interrupted. Whipping her head to her friend, Sakura gave her a 'what' look. With a fake smile on her face, Ino kept to her act hoping her friends would play along. "Blossom, don't go cheating on your price charming now," the blonde discreetly urged.

Inwardly, Sakura was yelling 'What prince charming?' Plastering an awfully fake smile on her surprised face, Sakura turned to Lee."I'm sorry, but I am seeing someone," she stressed. Looking up, she could see the male in front of her still smiling. His presence was starting to get to her. He got an answer and now he was showing no signs of leaving. What is with this guy?

"But I-"

"She is very happy-" Tenten added.

"I wasn't going-"

"So, you can leave now." Ino finished.

"I will protect you-"

"She's not interested," Tenten said loudly.

"So, this means-"

"Yes, it does." nodded Tenten.

"Well, excuse us for being rude, but we must get going!" Without letting the chance to let him say anything further, Ino pulled Sakura up along with Hinata with her other free hand. Tenten stood up and pushed her chair in, leaving Rock Lee there as he watches them depart to the other side of the food court. The smile soon faded and his head slumped down in defeat. He got rejected.

* * *

"I can't believed we just did that," Sakura exclaimed walking between the tables and chairs being careful not to bump into anyone.

"We had to get away from him! Did you see the way he looked at us?" The blonde shuddered. "His face so read 'stalker'!"

"I would have kick his ass if tried to touch any of you guys," assured Tenten, cracking her knuckles for effect.

"Yeah, don't forget the time where there was that 'guy' who wanted your phone number, Forehead Girl." The two were going at it until Hinata interrupted them.

"Y-you guys, please don't yell so loud."

"Stop acting like five year olds and hurry up. We have to get ready for work."

"Tenten, relax, its only noon," Ino stated. "Oh, we didn't eat lunch! Hinata, what are you going to cook for us today?"

"I-I think we need to go to the store. I was think along the lines of Thai cuisine," Hinata said thoughtfully.

"All right! Thai food it is!" The blonde cheered joyfully.

"Now, who is it that needed to relax?" Tenten gave Ino a smirk.

"Yeah, whatever."

"I would have-Oof" The pink headed girl stopped in her tracks. Her head was thrown back from the impact in front of her. Regaining her balance she looked up and found herself staring into a pair of obsidian eyes. The only thought that was running through Sakura's mind was, "Oh crap!"

* * *

Sakura was lost in a sea of black. No words came out of Sakura's 'o' shaped mouth. Breathlessly, she kept on looking at the figure in front of her. Her slightly glossy lips would have been hanging out wider if she hadn't felt a nudge at her side. Snapping back into reality, Sakura saw Ino beside her giving her a 'Hello?' look. She recollected herself and blinked a few times to come out of her daze.

"I am sorry," Sakura managed to whisper, not daring to look in his eyes. Instead, she cast her emerald orbs above his right shoulder and had a friendly smile on her face. Darting them at back at the guy, she blinked several times to make sure she wasn't dreaming. The raven haired male gave her a look and walked straight pass her petite frame with his hands in his charcoal slacks as he headed toward the crowd of shoppers.

Sakura gave out a sigh. That kind guy would probably have a supermodel for girlfriend. The mute act was killing his socializing skills, but then again, his looks topped that. Working at bar, she knew first hand that men usually had trouble in the socializing department. She was the bartender and would serve the drinks and make small talk. Let's just say, nine out of the ten times, the men would only want the alcohol rather than a conversation.

Bar-tending could be a fun job if you know how to work it. Besides knowing how to mix drinks, they were also required to have a vast knowledge on alcohol. Mixing drinks was usually a tricky business. You flip some bottles every now and then, and do a little shake there, but that's just a show. The number one skill set a bartender would need to possess was charm; the second, confidence.

Sakura's hand slapped on her forehead. 'Yeah, I was _so_ confident,' she thought, knowing that she had made a complete fool of herself by letting her mouth hang open like some fat kid drooling over a delicious moist chocolate cake. He probably thought she was flirting with him by just blinking.

Turning around, she wondered why her friends were all silent. When she came to, Ino, Tenten, Hinata were giving her a weird stare. Sakura tilted her head and saw the guy she bumped into was long gone. She gave out another sigh as Ino clear her throat, waiting for an explanation. Sakura raised a brow in bewilderment.

"That guy was so good looking!" Ino exclaimed. The brunette standing beside her rolled her eyes.

"Give it a rest, Ino."

"His eyes were so dreamy!"

"We have to get some lunch remember?"

"Hold your horses, Tenten. It's not like we didn't eat breakfast."

"But it was you who-"

"Then again, it's not like we would run into a hunk like that at the mall."

"Ino!"

"What? Its true though. I saw that look you gave him, Forehead Girl." Sakura's frown deepen.

"What look? I was looking somewhere else when I spoke to him!"

"Oh, somewhere _else_, eh?"

"Stop being perverted INO-PIG!" The pink haired girl pointed her index finger at the blonde.

"If it wasn't for me, you would have drooled a gallon of saliva at our feet!"

"I didn't drool!"

"Did too!"

"Did NOT!"

"Did TOO!"

"Did NOT!"

"Did TOO!"

"Did-"

"All right! That's enough for one day!" yelled Tenten at a reasonable volume. A few looks were shooting their way, but glare from the girl in buns made the shoppers averted their gaze. Acting like eight year olds, the two girls folded their arms in front of their chest, refusing to talk or feel the wrath of their 'referee'.

"Um, let's go grocery shopping then," suggested Hinata with a small smile on her face. Heading to the exit, the three girls followed behind to buy the ingredients for their lunch.

* * *

"Ooo, can we get this?"

"We're here to buy groceries, not junk food Ino!"

"But it's been so long since I had these!" The female pouted as she held up a bag of potato chips.

"No."

"Come on, girl, I know you've been wanting to eat some!"

"No."

"Why not? They are crispy, crunchy, and salty, and they're sour cream and cheddar!"

"I said 'no', Ino."

"But Sakura."

"Don't 'but Sakura' me."

"Ten-Ten, Sakura's being mean to me!"

"I'm at the aisle next to you guys. Don't need to yell, sheesh!"

"Sorry," They both chorused.

"Hey, what is that?" Ino pointed accusingly at the bag behind the cherry blossom.

"It's just-"

"Aha! I knew it! You were going to buy these, you sneak!"

"I was just thinking about it!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Ino, give it back here!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Ino, give me back my bag of cookies! Its been forever since we had some. I KNOW you want them. How can you resist the white and milk chocolate chip cookies with a tall glass of ice cold milk?"

"Ah, fine, fine," the girl said in defeat. "But if you get to buy cookies, I want to buy these chips." Sakura nodded and went over to Hinata and Tenten. Standing at the seafood section, Hinata held up two bags of shrimp.

"I don't know if you guys want jumbo shrimp or just regular shrimp," The Hyuuga Heiress tilted the bags on each hand like a balance. In the shopping cart was a bag of bean spouts, carrots, eggs, soy sauce, peanuts, a package of dried rice noodles, clusters of garlic and other herbs and spices.

"Just pick whatever you feel like cooking, Hinata. You're a great cook. You can make anything look good, even eggplants. Now that takes talent." Hinata blushed at the compliment Tenten gave her. She knew she had good culinary skills, but didn't picture herself to be a master chef.

"Hey you guys!" Turning, they saw the other girls putting more items into the cart. Chips, cookies, orange soda, and now ice cream.

"Ice cream," Tenten raised a brow. "You do know we have a show to perform tonight."

"I know, but it's fat free, see!" The golden haired girl pointed at the label.

"And it's sherbet, not ice cream!" added Sakura.

"Okay, okay."

"Are we done yet?" questioned Ino. Deciding to pick quality over quantity, Hinata set the bag of tiger pawns down into the cart.

"Yeah, we're done." With a smile, they all headed down the aisle to pay for the groceries.

* * *

The oil in the wok sizzled as Hinata placed in the chopped up garlic cloves and chili. Taking a pair of chopsticks, she moved the pile around in the oil and turned the heat down a bit. Soon the air was filled with the aroma that will fill the room, making the whole apartment smell like you are in a real restaurant.

"Are you two done shelling the prawns yet?"

"Yes, we are!" Sakura shouted. Throwing in the last of the prawns into a bowl, she handed it to Hinata. "Here."

"Thank you," she said, taking it over to the stove.

The cool liquid poured out of the faucet as Sakura rubbed her hands underneath, dried them and went into the living room. Tenten took the filmy shells of the raw shrimp and threw them all in the garbage before any of the cats in the building decide to come and eat lunch at their window. Squeezing the lemon-scented soap, she started to cleanse her hands from the smell and bacteria. After rising them clean, she joined Sakura and Ino in the living room, drying her hands with a paper towel. Music came from the television set as Tenten saw the pair of girls singing along.

_Don't wanna be like_

_Every other girl in the world_

_Like every other one who wants you_

_Cuz when I see you something inside me burns_

_And then I realize I wanna come first_

_I wanna come first_

_I wanna come first_

The song ended and a commercial about a show came up. The two singers were laughing like crazy as they sat down from their little performance.

"I see you two are having fun," Tenten stated.

"Is lunch ready yet?"

"Geez, Ino, do you think about anything else besides food?"

"Oh, be quiet Forehead Girl. You know you want to eat Hinata's cooking. She's the best!"

"Of course!"

Tenten made her way to the couch and sat down to relax and watch some television. Ino flipped the channels to see if there was any good music videos to sing along with. It was something they would all do every chance they get. Singing was something they enjoyed to do besides bartending, not that giving alcohol to people and intoxicating them was a good thing to do.

Sakura sat there with her eyes closed and her legs swung on top of the coffee table. A little yawn escaped from her lips and just half the day have gone by. She was napping alright and they know why. It was a rough night or morning some would say. The sky was dark, but it was way past midnight, making it the mark of the next day. They all live their life mostly awake at night and most of the morning, and sleeping through the afternoon and in the early evenings, then go to work. That's the life of a bartender.

All the windows were closed except for the ones in the kitchen to let all of the steam from the stove out. A little breeze from the air conditioner flown in their faces and around the living room as they waited for lunch. Inside the kitchen, Hinata worked hard to prepare for her friends. Cooking was a hobby she love to do when had the time from her busy schedule. She took classes when she was in high school and exceeded the expectations of the teachers. Cooking was a passion of hers. It was something to do to get her mind off things, especially if your family isn't perfect. But now, she just cooks for the fun of it. After cooking the numerous meals, she can't help but blushes every time they compliment her. They were her friends after all. If they want her to cook, she would gladly do it without hesitation.

The last of the rice noodles were dished out onto the serving plate. Bright orange striped tiger prawns were gracefully placed on top of the noodles mixed with bean sprouts, thin slices of carrots, flakes of chili, and eggs. Finishing it up, she sprinkled some crushed peanuts over the dish for a bit of crunch. Hinata took the plate over to the table once she was satisfied with the presentation, along with other dishes she had made. And before she can say 'lunch is served', Sakura, Ino, and Tenten were already sitting in their seats. A family that eats together, stays together. Hinata smiled brightly and sat down in her own chair as she laid her dishes onto the center of the table.

Without wasting another second, they all exclaimed "Let's eat!" and dug in hungrily.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Here's what you need to know before reading:

1) This is just revamp of this story.

2) Currently, I have no plans to continue it.

3) Enjoy!

* * *

**Happy Hour**

_Chapter Four_

* * *

"What do you mean you don't have ramen? What kind of restaurant is this?"

"Please calm down, sir. I'm sorry, but we do not serve ramen here at our restaurant. This is a very high-"

"Do you know who I am?" The waiter had a questionable look on his face.

"I am the great Uzumaki Na-" A hand clamped over the loud mouth and his voice was drowned out to muffles. Sitting calmly to the side, Shikamaru had an elbow on the table, supporting his head on one side. Again, the four of them had an audience and they were just there to order lunch. The young waiter left in a haste muttering something about 'mental maniac' under his breath while Naruto was forced into his seat thanks to the Uchiha.

"We have been humiliated enough being seen with you, must you keep acting like a fool?" Neji asked calmly.

"Why are we her?" Naruto cried completely ignoring the insult and earning another hit in the head from Sasuke.

"It was your idea to eat here in the first place," Sasuke told him.

"I thought this place would at least serve some ramen!"

"Only fast food restaurants serve ramen," said Shikamaru lazily. "Let's just order something and head back."

"I have a better idea. I'll go get some drinks and snacks with Shikamaru while Sasuke and Neji order our food!" Naruto grinned.

"I'll make sure I poison it," the Hyuuga shot a look at the blond.

"On second thought, why don't you two go do that and I'll stay here with Sasuke?"

"Good idea. Best one you had in years," Shikamaru agreed, following Neji to the exit. Before the door hit the bell on top of the door, Naruto gave them a mock salute.

Sasuke was reading the menu and wrote the quantity of each serving they wanted. He was obviously trying to ignore the gazes and whispers of the women inside the restaurant. The males who came to accompany their girlfriends were completely zoned out by the attention the females were giving Sasuke. Naruto gave rolled his eyes. The Uchiha was done and sat there to wait for some service. In an instant, a young girl in a short black skirt and a white blouse came up to the table with a wide smile on her face as she eyed Sasuke.

"Hello. Welcome to _Pairs Night Bistro_, may I take your order?" she said in one breath. Reluctantly, the Uchiha handed the waitress the order form without bothering to look at her. Naruto watched and didn't miss the way the girl _accidently_ brushed her fingers against his. WIth a giggle, she left them to wait for their order.

"I saw the way she was looking at you," the blond said with a clip in his tone. "Shouldn't you enjoy this while you're young?" Sasuke gave him the look. It was the look he gave to any women staring at him. It was the look of annoyance.

To make his point, Naruto mocked what the waitress had said in a high squeaky voice.

'Would you like anything else with that, sir? Oh, put that money away, it's on the house," He imitated the way the girl wave her hand and had her other coving her sickly flirtatious smile. "Why don't I go and make your order. I'll be right back, sir," and he giggled childishly. Sasuke gave him a glare from across the table. The amount of money for the meals (plus tax and a tip) was on the table top. The Uchiha Sasuke never liked the idea of charity.

"Come on, having women practically at your feet. Don't tell me you don't enjoy it."

"No, I don't."

"I can see why," he said dryly as he saw the looks the women in the room were giving to Sasuke. He didn't have to do anything and the whole female population will go and plays 'let's gawk at the hot guy in the corner so that he can get the message and ask us on a date'. Naruto gave a snort. They can dream on. Through the years he had been the Uchiha, the only attention he would give was the women he had to interrogate. Any women will crack when they lay their eyes on Sasuke. Then when it came to the 'I swear I didn't mean do it' pleads, they would find an excuse cling onto him like a monkey on a tree.

Of course, from the two-way mirror, Naruto would laugh his head off as Sasuke tried to fight off the women crying on his shirt. And being the cruel boss he is, Kakashi would leave him in there for longer than necessary, enjoying the look on the Uchiha's face. For future references, the only way Sasuke would go into an interrogation routine was when it would be a male suspect.

"Oh good grief." Naruto rolled his eyes as he saw the girl coming back with their order with more red lipstick on her lips and a skimpier skirt than any other waitress wore.

"Here you are, sir! Thank you for stopping by at _Paris Night Bistro_. Please come again and have a nice day!" She finished as Sasuke swept pass her with a frown on his face. Naruto held in a chuckle and swiped the cash that laid on the table and followed his partner to the door. "He's gay, you know," he had a big smile on his face and winked as he open the door to make his exit. From outside, he could see the girl with her eyes widen and her mouth agaped. The look on her face was priceless. Naruto let out a laugh and continued his path to Sasuke's car with money jingling in his pocket. If he couldn't have ramen for lunch, he could now have it for dinner, courtesy of the Uchiha.

* * *

A white plastic fork pierced into a juicy piece of the medium-rare cooked meat.

"This is good, what do you call this stuff?" Naruto placed the food in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.

"Veal," the Uchiha answered.

"What the heck is that?"

"Meat."

"Are you trying to poison me, Sasuke?"

"Just eat it."

"What kind of meat is it?"

"Veal is meat."

"What kind?"

"It's just a fancy word for 'calf' meat," answered the irritated Nara.

"Oh, why didn't you say so?"

"It could have been snake."

"Not funny, Hyuuga!"

"You know how they look like, right, idiot?"

"That's it! I wasn't going to-"

"Eat your vegetables, Naruto," Sasuke interrupted and pointed at the untouched rainbow carrots and radishes on his plate.

"I'll eat it last!"

"No wonder you're so short."

"Shut up!"

"My, my, getting excited already?" The silver haired male chuckle as he walked in the room, closing the door behind him. "What are you doing standing on there, Naruto?"

Realizing it was true, the blond got off the long table and sat down to finish his dinner.

"Quite a lunch there."

"Do you want some?" Naruto asked between bites. It was a miracle chunks of meat didn't flying everywhere. Sweat dropping, Kakashi politely declined and took a seat. His carefree face then turned into serious mood. Kakashi was a legend. How else would he be the Head of the Investigation department and the whole station? Though he has a laid back attitude, Kakashi was a natural when it came to solving cases. He had the skill and talent to make it to the top. Going undercover, stake outs, and planning for an investigation, he did it all. He could probably do it in his sleep. His hands were folded as he eye the four of them. Clearing his throat, he began their lecture and reminders.

"I trust you all have gone over the plans," Kakashi stated. "Let me make it clear to you that you all have two missions. One, is to determine which one of the suspects killed Gatoh and the other is to find out when the 'Triad War' is." He held up the number of fingers to show them like they were kindergartners. The three dark-haired males in the room rolled their eyes. "We cannot have any mistakes. None, whatsoever. There is going to be a war in Konoha, and it's our job to stop it before it happens." Kakashi said sternly. Silence filled the room as their boss held his dramatic pause. "Be prepared for anything." Once the silver haired man left, the tension in the room seemed to have thicken. At the very moment, two thoughts are roaming through their minds, the lives of the four young girls and the stake of Konoha. A glass of water and an aspirin, (a very large one), would seem to do a bit of good right now. At least it wasn't a hangover.

"The two areas here are the parking lot for VIPs and other big shots. There are five exits from the bar, the front way, the back way, two at the sides and an underground passage. There are four sections of the bar the each of them are managed by the four beautiful ladies." Kakashi gave a smirk and then went back to his 'meeting' mode. "But the most important room is the back room. In there are all the 'real' customers. Be sure to keep an eye on whoever goes in and out at all times. I trust you all have read your folders. All the information in there should be enough to know your way around the bar and who to mingle with. If you have leads, report back ASAP. Good luck," he finished as he headed out the room.

"Geez, what a drag. I thought we were suppose to have at least some fun while we are on this case."

"A case is a case. We just need to get over with it before it's too late," Shikamaru grumbled.

* * *

"Got everything, Dobe?" Sasuke and Naruto were parked a couple of blocks away from the entrance of _Red Love_.

"You better get everything. We are not going to come back to the station just because of some 'color clash' emergency," Neji said sardonically.

"It's all good," Naruto spoke into his microphone. His hair was messy as always, but he at least it a bit tamed. Wearing an orange jump suit, he looked taller than normal. It took him ahile to get the 'image' he wanted. After lunch, he got to work and tried on the clothes he had purchased after receiving the assignment. The rest were busy devising plans and studying their information about the case in the conference room while Naruto paraded in and out of the attached bathroom asking stupid questions of 'Does this make me look fat?' and 'What do you think?'. Finally, after reaching a never-ending 'fashion show' of orange, orange, and more orange, Naruto gave up and settled on a pair of black slacks with an orange buttoned up.

"Okay, let's review information we have," suggested Shikamaru.

"What's there to look at? We already went through all of it for six straight hours!" Naruto grumbled.

"It's protol call." A loud sigh could be heard through the blond's earpiece. Sasuke didn't have to be a genius to know that Shikamaru was rolling his eyes.

"All right. Let's do a quick recap. It's not like we need it anyway," Naruto murmured.

"The suspects are going to start their shift at ten o' clock tonight. They are going to take the back way. Before we can intercept and gather information, we need to keep an eye on the clientele. The point of this operation is to not alarm the Triad members. Keep your distance and keep out a sharp eye. Remember, don't trust anyone in there," The Nara finished.

* * *

Before long it was ten o' clock. Naruto was getting restless waiting in the car. Being paired up with Sasuke was nothing new to him, and in his experience, he had to keep himself entertained. The rubix cube was nowhere near solved, but it didn't matter now. It was time to start their undercover assignment.

"Let's get going." Sasuke turned to face him. "Are you ready?"

"I'm always ready. Besides we already rehearsed the plan before we got here." Naruto set down the puzzle. "I got this!"

"Right," Sasuke said dryly.

"Thanks for you vote of confidence," the blonde retorted. "Does our awesome track record mean anything to you? Let me tell you something-"

"Now is not the time for a motivation speech," said their team leader.

"But I-"

"Need a mute button," Neji cut in.

"Kiss my ass, Hyuuga!" Naruto hissed into his mouth piece.

"Hn."

Naruto flicked the little switch to turn off his microphone hidden on the inside of his collar. The last thing he wanted to hear was Neji's cynical quips. Instead of grumbling about it, the blond followed the Uchiha's lead. Sasuke got out of the car and waited for his partner to do the same. Once the car doors were locked, they both walked over to the entrance. It was now or never.

* * *

"What a great turn out tonight. Has anyone hit on you yet, Sasuke?"

"Shut up, Dobe."

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." The Uchiha ignored Naruto's snicker through his earpiece. "Ha. Knew it. Kakashi owes me fifty bucks." They all were in position. Neji and Shikamaru were at the other corners of the bar while Sasuke took the back and Naruto was positioned in the main lounge.

There were a lot of customers tonight and they all sat in the front with girls surrounding them like accessories. Most of them, as far as Sasuke can tell, were the 'big-shots'. All were dressed handsomely in tailored suits and leather jackets. He knew underneath them were guns, switch knives, and other types of weaponry. How typical.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to _Red Love_," Kankuro spoke into the microphone, "The most love you can expect from this city." That comment earned a few empty claps and whistles from the crowd. "Now, to start things off, we have a special show tonight. Performing on the stage are the lovely ladies from Konoha, H.I.T.S.!"

The wine-colored curtains pulled away from the stage and revealed the four primary suspects of the case.

* * *

Thank you for reading!


End file.
